Anyone tried Redbear amps?

[murraymurray]

So as the title suggests, has anyone ever tried these, or even heard of them?
Im clearing out some of my gear since I need to pay off some debts and found one of these for pretty damn cheap, so may get it for jamming on as im not gonna be playing live for the next few months.
They seem to have wierd tubes but can be modded to 12ax7's apparently reasonably easy, just another russian rip off of a jcm800 by the looks of things.
So anyone tried them to warn me off? Or should i just get it and try it out? seeing as its so cheap would be hard to lose much money on it.

[jibidy]

I almost bought one from ebay about 2 years ago. But i didnt get paid in time so i settled with a randall G3.

I wish i was able to get the redbear... I've not heard any bad word against them while i was researching them.

If you have problems they are easy to tech + tubes can be found and many owners say that modding to 12ax7 is like blasphemy because the originals have such a unique sound they are worth finding.

I would say do it, i dont think you'll look back.

[Oli]

I've been wanting to try one out for a few years now! If you don't get on with it, give me a shout :)

[Johnny Mac]

I tried them a couple of times when they were on sale around 1998, I think Gibson uk had something to do with the importing. Anyway they are really good for the money and look really mean and menacing. I had a go on a full stack one, with my Charvel in its pre-bkp state and it was a beast, i nearly bought it.

[murraymurray]

Yeah, looks like a bargain, just one of those things that slip by since it doesnt say marshall on the badge.
info i found on the net all looks promising and the dude lives about 5 minutes walk from my house i found out, so gonna go grab it tonight and give it a run through.

Hes asking about 130 quid once i worki nthe exchange rate, then under 100 quid for the 4x12, ive already got a cab but might get my flatmate to buy it. really not digging the carpet, but i think i still have some red snakeskin left over from recovering my old 5150, but snakeskin isnt very bearish, so maybe ill get some red fur for it.

Im in nz so think youll be outta luck if it doesnt work out oli. shipping would cost more than the amp

If it doesnt work out ill probably just muck around with trying to mod the preamp or something, nice cheap base to work on, and apparently its all p2p.

[murraymurray]

Well i got to give it a run last night. The thing sure does roar, sounds pretty untamed but at the sametime quite clear. each string seemed to still ring out individually, so id imagine i'll have to tighten up my playing or youll hear even more of the small mistakes.
im used to playing a 5150 so it was pretty different and i couldnt quite decide which i prefer. the eq is a lot more responsive than anything ive had before, but this also meant i could dial in shiteeeeee sounds a lot easier too  :? gave it a run through with my jackson JJ with nailbombs into ibanez ts9dx, sm9 and a rat2, all the pedals added a whole new flavour to the amp, so it could just be a matter of finding the perfect match for the bear

it still has the original tubes from the mid 90s, so i think id definately need to replace the power tubes straight away, preamp tubes are wierd ones so wont do them initially as it requires some modding to run 12ax7's
i know new tubes will make a big difference, but in what areas? just deciding whether to buy it and fix it up, or whether to pass on it.